UP TO #1million is to be spent on a package of improvements for the Foleshill area of Coventry....

UP TO #1million is to be spent on a package of improvements for the Foleshill area of Coventry.

The money will pay for work along the 3?-mile corridor from the ring road to the M6.

An initial #250,000 investment will see derelict land and the former Websters tip, off Stoney Stanton Road, turned into parks, and a pedestrian crossing installed at the junction of Foleshill Road and Broad Street.

The work, which will be underwritten by the City Development Directorate, comes under the first stage of the Foleshill Environment Package.

Traders and people who live in the area will be asked how the money should be spent.

The long-term aim is to secure an additional #2 million funding from Europe and the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.

That would be used to improve the shopping areas of Foleshill, transform other pockets of derelict land and carry out further work on the old tip site.

Cllr Dave Batten (Lab, Westwood), the cabinet member for development and renewal, said: "This is great news for the Foleshill area and, with the hope of additional money to come, we are working towards a vision that will transform the area.

"This first-phase work will show the kinds of things that we can do and encourage local people to get more involved with planning bigger projects for the future."

He added: "The Foleshill corridor is one of the key roads into the city. It is a mix of residential, retail and industrial premises and we hope to see it as a thriving community."